THEY were a married couple who lived under the same roof, but led such separate lives that when 57-year-old Madam Liew Shak Hiong died in bed, her husband did not know it till the body began to smell.

The Coroner's Court heard yesterday that Mr Aw Hui Boon, 62, and his wife had slept in separate rooms for over 10 years.

The childless couple, who moved into their 3-room Boon Lay flat over a year ago, seldom spoke to each other. So when Mr Aw came home from work on the night of May 23 and left again the next morning, he found nothing amiss that she was in bed.

It was only when he got home late that night that he realised she was lying face up and motionless with a foul smell coming from her. Madam Liew was pronounced dead by paramedics at the couple's flat. There was a bottle of medicated oil beside her.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times. .